Cultural Stereotypes: Arabs and Europeans
New York TImes
To the Editor:
Jochen Bittner makes a number of compelling points in his June 25 Op-Ed essay about Brexit, “Europe’s Angry Old Men,” but he also makes a passing remark that betrays the same type of cultural ignorance and sense of superiority that he laments.
He writes that Europe’s young “cannot lose the West to Mr. Farage” — Nigel Farage, the head of the U.K. Independence Party — “and his ilk, to demagogues who have actually much more in common with the scapegoating culture of the Arab world they so despise than with the enlightened, rational tradition of Europe.”
Mr. Bittner’s monochrome view of entire cultures is both totally mistaken and very unwelcome. Contrary to what he may think, there are millions of young Arabs (including me) who are entirely dedicated to making progress despite huge obstacles. Scapegoating is the least of our worries.
Mr. Bittner also does not seem to appreciate that “Mr. Farage and his ilk” are just as much a part of European culture as the “rational tradition” that he subscribes to.
ZAID AL-ALI
Princeton, N.J.
The writer, a lawyer, is a visiting lecturer and fellow at Princeton.
Source: www.nytimes.com